Military commissioner says troops get no love from Germans
Parliamentary commissioner for the country’s armed forces, Reinhold Robbe, called on Monday for Germans society to offer greater recognition for its troops.
“From recruits to generals – at every troop visit the soldiers complain of ‘friendly disinterest’ and absent sympathy,” Robbe told daily Bild ahead of presenting his yearly report on Thursday.
German film and literature from the last 60 years have not seriously addressed the situation of soldiers, he said, adding: “In France, the United Kingdom and the US that would be unthinkable.”
Sixty years after founding the Federal Republic of Germany, cultural elites, churches, associations and employers associations should finally show solidarity with soldiers, Robbe told the paper.
Robbe has complained of failing morale among troops several times in the last year, saying society’s failure to recognise their achievements is leading to lower recruitment numbers.
German soldiers have been the object of recent attacks as violence intensifies in Afghanistan, where some 3,500 German troops are deployed as part of the NATO military alliance's ISAF. More troops are scheduled to arrive this summer ahead of Afghan elections.
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“From recruits to generals – at every troop visit the soldiers complain of ‘friendly disinterest’ and absent sympathy,” Robbe told daily Bild ahead of presenting his yearly report on Thursday.
German film and literature from the last 60 years have not seriously addressed the situation of soldiers, he said, adding: “In France, the United Kingdom and the US that would be unthinkable.”
Sixty years after founding the Federal Republic of Germany, cultural elites, churches, associations and employers associations should finally show solidarity with soldiers, Robbe told the paper.
Robbe has complained of failing morale among troops several times in the last year, saying society’s failure to recognise their achievements is leading to lower recruitment numbers.
German soldiers have been the object of recent attacks as violence intensifies in Afghanistan, where some 3,500 German troops are deployed as part of the NATO military alliance's ISAF. More troops are scheduled to arrive this summer ahead of Afghan elections.
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